SIDNEY — A local 9-year-old, Anna Neu, threw out the first pitch at the Dayton Dragons game on Monday, July 30.
Anna has Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) which is a chronic disease that causes a lot of pain and damage to her joints and tendons. Her family created a group called Anna’s Angels to help raise funds in partnership with the Arthritis Foundation and the Spondylitis Association of America (SAA). Their hope is to fund research that will find a cure or at the very least, medication that will slow down the progression of Anna’s disease.
Anna looks like a healthy, normal 9-year-old, but her disease is often called the “invisible disease” because you can’t see the damage is it causing inside the body. This month, her family and Anna are once again headed to the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where Anna is part of a research study. Anna not only is a patient at NIH but also at Nationwide Children’s in Columbus and an incredible advocate for those fighting AS.
Anna’s Angels is gearing up for another fundraising season in support of the Jingle Bell Run in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 1, 2018. The Dragons game was their first event and they raised $255 from ticket sales.
The next fundraiser is Thursday, Aug. 23, at Chipotle here in Sidney. All you have to do to help is eat at Chipotle and tell them you are there for the fundraiser. A total of 12,000 kids in Ohio are dealing with arthritis. In queso you didn’t know, grabbing lunch or dinner at chipotleAug. 23 will help the Arthritis Foundation fight for a cure for the one in four adults and 300,000 children nationally who suffer with this disease.
Announcements will be made for upcoming fundraisers arranged by Anna’s Angels to help her fight Ankylosing Spondylitis.
